78 Evolution

"He's stopped." Aisha muttered, squinting at the tall, dark haired demon, now having completely shed his young child disguise. He merely stared at the two, eyes bright and golden, small, batlike wings folded against his back, but tensed, ready to fly off. Aisha stopped as well, cautious, and Sui followed suit, cutting her flight short abruptly, landing on the ground with a thump.

.

"Why'd he stop? What does that mean? Is he tired?" Sui asked. "He's sweating."

"No." Aisha shook her head. "It means he thinks he'll win if he fights here."

"Then perhaps we should retreat?" Sui suggested.

.

"No." Aisha snarled. "We've waited long enough."

"...Okay then."

.

Aisha glared off into the distance at the demon, and then sighed, trudging off towards the dark-skinned demi-hume at a slow pace. Shockingly enough, the demon didn't run off, letting Aisha walk within speaking distance.

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"Leave me alone." The demon rasped, his voice deep, tired, yet not out of breath. His chest was bare, revealing gashes, tears, and long-healed scars. Scars that far outnumbered Aisha's own.

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"That's not possible." Aisha answered. "It's my job to deal with you. You… uh…" Aisha scratched her head. "Something with his daughter."

"What he tell you?" The demon asked bitterly. "That I kill her?"

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Aisha nodded.

.

"It was his fault." He spat. "La-ri… His… dah-ter. She was kind. She care for me. Teach hume language. But then old man find out. Set his men with… rrrrgh… sharp… sticks… on me. And La-ri… die for me."

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Aisha was silent, but a twitch in her eye betrayed the sympathy she felt. How could she not?

.

"I do nothing wrong." The demon said quietly. "I want live. Same as you."

"You've killed people." Aisha replied simply. "I would think that that is something… wrong."

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"They try kill me too." The demon spat, before pausing, a look of intense concentration on his face.

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He shook his head. "Try to. Try to. They try to kill me too. Why not… why can not let me live?"

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Aisha shrugged. "You could leave here. Go somewhere else. Or go to jail. I don't really care. I'm just in it for the ranking."

"I… I am… I am not stupid." The demon growled. "Go som-where… som-where else… and be… hunted… again? This place… this place… is beautiful. Why can not… why can't you share?"

"Because you kill." Aisha rolled her eyes. "How can you expect to share a world with the same people that you kill?"

"Hume also kill!" He roared. "Hume kill animals, humes kill each other. Humes only kill! Humes only hate!"

.

Aisha sighed, shaking her head. "Even though I agree with you, I can't let you kill anymore people. It is simply my job."

,

Aisha pulled out her greatsword, holding it out in front of her in a loose, lazy stance, the same one that had been used against her so many times.

.

"I not leave hell for nothing." The demon snarled. "I not leaving. For La-ri. I will live!"

"Then-"

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Suddenly, Aisha saw the sharp, spaded points of Sui's cables in her peripherals, and felt the cold, thick steel against her midsection as she was yanked backwards, the demon, at the same time, holding out his hand, firing out a bolt of muddy-gold energy.

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Aisha witnessed as a familiar sight entered her vision, the distortion of space in front of her as even the light was pulled into the epicenter of some dense, explosive spell. Followed by complete silence, and then, nothing except the rushing of wind, and intense fire.

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Aisha and Sui were flung back by the force of the explosion, the intense, arcane magic burning their skin, as the demon jumped away, safe, slightly beyond the range of his explosion.

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The fey girl hacked and coughed, miraculously, having been able to keep her grip on her sword, before untangling herself from Sui's wire cables, hissing as her skin healed, albeit extremely slowly.

.

(I'm weak… Aisha…) Her shadow whispered. (I can't help you that much…)

.

"Fine, fine fine." Aisha muttered, climbing to her feet. "We can beat him, we can beat him."

.

"That was a powerful explosion." Sui said in a concerned manner, dusting off her backside. "I highly recommend we fall back! That spell was almost as strong as a flare, we-"

.

"NO!" Aisha snarled. "I've wasted enough time here as it is! We're going to kill this asshole!"

"...It's unadvisable." Sui said, unsurely. "He-"

"I don't care." Aisha snapped. "You can leave if you want. I'm staying."

.

Sui looked around her, before sighing. "Then I'm staying with you, friend."

"Good." Aisha breathed out. "First… first… we plan."

"In the middle of combat, friend?" Sui asked, alarmed. "Did you not have a plan, before-"

.

"The plan has changed." Aisha corrected. "Look at him. He's just watching us. Why doesn't he just come over here and blast us with another explosion?"

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Sui followed Aisha's line of sight, and reluctantly agreed. It seemed that the demon had no particular desire to come to them, and yet he did not flee.

"Why do you think that is?"

.

"It means he can't. At least, not with us in this position." Aisha theorized. "He might be out of mana."

"Maybe."

"What did you see? How did you save me back there?" Aisha asked suddenly, turning to Sui. "You pulled me backwards before the explosion. How did you know it was coming?"

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"Uh… there was a mana signature. It just kind of… appeared, when the demon hit it with his magic. But it was dense, and volatile."

"It didn't come from him?"

"No."

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Aisha paused for a second, deep in thought. It didn't take long, however, for her to raise her sword again, eyes firmly locked on the demon, waiting patiently in the distance. No doubt also finished planning. Or perhaps... perhaps he had had a plan far before he had led them here.

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"Wait, what do you want me to do?" Sui asked, pulling Aisha's sleeve.

"Get ready to save me again if I fuck up." Aisha mumbled, wincing as the burns on her body began to dry out, becoming irritating on her skin.

.

And with that, Aisha charged back in, directly at the demon - who in response, also began to move, moving himself leftwards out of Aisha's direct path. However, oddly enough, Aisha didn't adjust, continuing to run straight forward, until she was where the demon was before he had moved.

.

The dark skinned demi-hume tilted his head curiously, even as Aisha charged at him, following the path that he had himself walked.

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Aisha swung her sword at the demon and was blocked by a spell, just like at the village. Only this time, she let the greatsword fly out of her hands, using the moment of surprise to lunge at the demon, fist aimed at his head.

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Her hand flew true, although her punch didn't crush the demon's skull like she intended, instead merely knocking him back a few steps.

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Aisha raised her fist again, ready to sock the demon in the head again, but was caught off guard when he flinched, raising his forearms in the air in front of his face.

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He was scared. And untrained. It was kind of like… picking on a child.

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But it didn't stop Aisha from burying her fist into the demon's stomach, launching him backwards another few steps. Aisha hissed. The demon's skin was ridiculously strong - the shockwave from her punch, even through her gloves, reverberated through her hands painfully.

.

Actually, looking at her gloves… The leather had already rubbed off on the knuckles. Oops.

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It didn't stop her from leaping on top of the demon, hands wrapped around his throat. He tried to pry her hands off, but Aisha was much stronger - so quickly, he fired off a bolt of energy again - aimed at Aisha's side, right next to a nearby tree.

.

This time, Sui's cables came faster, and Aisha was pulled out of harm's way before the explosion detonated, ripping through the nearby tree and setting it on fire, splinters flying through the forest, embedding themselves in tree trunks like daggers.

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Aisha grimaced as Sui put her down, the whiplash from being pulled so quickly making her a bit dizzy, but she nonetheless was mostly unscathed.

.

"The same thing?" Aisha asked.

"Mhm." Sui confirmed. "He fired off a bolt of fire magic, and then that spot next to you lit up."

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"They're mines." Aisha said quietly. "He put them here in advance. I'm guessing that's where… all the lives he took went."

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Sui was silent for a second, but nodded.

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"He doesn't seem to be very good at hand-to-hand combat." Aisha mumbled, keeping a close eye on the demon, who simply ambled around, also intensely glaring at the two girls. "I'm going in."

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Sui thought for a second, biting her lip, but nonetheless, nodded in affirmation, watching her friend run off into the minefield, watching her figure get smaller and smaller.

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This time, when Aisha ran towards the demon, he retreated further into the forest, forcing Aisha to run after him.

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"Wait!" Sui shouted. "You're running out of my range!"

"Follow my path, then!"

.

Sui looked at Aisha, and begrudgingly, she began to run the same path as she did, watching her steps extremely carefully. However, she panicked when she saw that Aisha had left her behind, and soon rushed into the forest much quicker.

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Inside, Aisha was still chasing the demon, slowly catching up to his erratic movements, and with relief, Sui realized that she still had a sightline on her friend, content to watch for now.

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"Stop running." Aisha demanded murderously, firing off a beam of purple magic, tearing through a tree trunk. The demon dodged easily, barely even having to turn around to look at the beam.

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"You just like them." The demon growled lowly.

"Like the humes?" Aisha asked. "Maybe so, but-"

"No." The horned man corrected, ducking behind a tree to dodge another blast of magic. "Like me. Like people in hell."

.

Aisha narrowed her eyes. The "hell people" he spoke about were definitely daemons.

"And why is that?" She asked slowly, starting to slow down, along with the demon.

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"You think you are smarter than me." The demon whispered. "You might be right, but… I am smart enough."

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Aisha's eyes widened as the demon shot not just a bolt, but an entire wave of magic past Aisha, right between her and Sui. And she didn't need Sui's sensory powers to see the three mines behind her, all glowing dangerously, as they began to compress and glow.

.

"FRIEND!" Sui screeched, trying to find an angle to save her, but unable to. With despair, she realized that she couldn't move - her hesitance had cost her information - she hadn't seen Aisha's running path, and so she was frozen in place - moving to find a better angle could lead her directly into a mine.

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Aisha was sent flying through the woods, leaving nothing but a trail of light as her scorched body was launched, smashing through trees trunks and branches. Sui could only watch with horror as her body eventually rolled into a stump, followed by a sickening crack as no doubt, multiple bones in Aisha's body was broken.

.

She didn't stir after that.

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Suddenly, Sui's face took on a deathly serious look, and the mirthful, childish air around her disappeared, as the sound of jet engines roared behind her, her body beginning to take lift and fly into the air.

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"I'm sorry." The demon said. "I not want to kill her."

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Sui didn't respond. Her mouth didn't even twitch. It was eerie, just how little emotion was left on the short girl's face, as she rose to the same height as the branches of the trees, wind billowing away from under her cloak. There was no anger, no sorrow. She didn't scream, or cry. There was only the sound of grinding metal, as she slowly lifted away the front of her cloak, revealing a massive, blinding light.

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The demon barely had time to dive to the ground, before a massive laser, the diameter of an entire person, completely vaporized everything in between Sui and where he used to be, taking a good chunk of the earth with it.

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(That kill me!) The demon thought in a panic, frantically trying to scrabble his way onto his fours to escape any more fucking laser beams. (Just like-)

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The demon's train of thought was interrupted as razor-sharp, barbed blades dug into his chest and skin, not cutting deep enough to hit anything vital, but enough to draw a large amount of blood, the sticky, thick, dark-red substance oozing into the ground like sap. Trying to remove the blades from his body, he saw the same cables that saved Aisha earlier, connecting the spade-tips back to Sui's chest.

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Immediately after, the demon felt a yank on his chest, painfully pulling him airborne, towards Sui as she withdrew her cables, accelerating both of them at an incredibly fast pace.

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Halfway through, the blades ripped through his skin, releasing him as they snapped back into Sui's cloak violently, but this did not stop her from slamming her foot into the side of the demon's head, using the momentum from the massive weight of the cables to give herself more force behind her kick, steel-plated boot smashing into his skull with a sickening crack.

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The demon cried out in pain, trying to cushion his fall as he was sent flying into the ground, smashing into trees and branches in a similar manner to Aisha. He quickly jumped up to his feet, hearing the sound of grinding metal, and seeing the blurry sight of the blinding light, ready to completely vaporize him.

.

He stopped in his tracks as Sui fired again, this time in front of his running path- so close that it took off a chunk of his nose. He froze in fear, only able to stare at Sui, as she stared back, eyes trained on him like a laser.

.

"Calibration complete." She said, emotionlessly, before her eyes grew fiery, betraying a hint of the rage she felt. "The next one is going to kill you."

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Frantically, the demon sprinted away, pure panic in his expression as Sui followed him in the air, raining down hell in the form of lasers, blade-tipped cables, and beams of glittering arcane magic.

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Sui realized with a snarl, that she had lost the demon in the explosions, glaring intensely at the ground and searching for footprints and mana signatures. It was difficult, but…

.

"I see you." She whispered menacingly. "You can't hide!"

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Sui's chest lit up for a second, but she soon furrowed her brows, seeing the demon peek out from behind the tree he was cowering behind. He was ready to dodge, and Sui was running out of mana.

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"Cables first." Sui muttered to herself. "Safer option."

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With an extended hand, her cables shot out from under her cloak, the massive weight of the steel cords physically jolting Sui backwards slightly in the air.

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The spades smashed through the tree, beginning to topple over, as the demon shot out from the cover of the tree, before Sui's blades could cut him up again.

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Sui glared at the demon, ready to incinerate him with her laser, fingering the massive lens attached to her torso. She ran her fingers over the name engraved on the side. Yamato. And in smaller lettering on the side, Shinra.

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The demon started to physically glow - a light so bright that Sui didn't even have to use her enhanced vision, rolling her eyes as she activated the mechanism to reel back in her cables-

.

Sui paled when her cables didn't return to her, instead pulling her closer to the impact point, panicking. She hastily brought her eyes to the blade-tips, and realized that her cables were stuck in a rock, lodged deep inside of the boulder and not budging.

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Taking her eyes off the demon, she violently yanked her cables out of the stone, holding them out in front of her as a shield for the attack that was inevitably coming-

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A yellow heat signature burst right in front of her, stuck to the wire of her cables. Sui's eyes widened.

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"NO!" She screamed.

.

.

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Aisha gasped as she held her slowly healing ribs, walking slowly back towards the battleground. Tanking such a powerful explosion, no, three explosions, almost killed her, but it certainly wasn't the worst hit she had ever taken. She winced as she felt her bones creaking inside of her body - her shadow had been kind enough to mend all the important ones, but didn't have enough energy to do anything about the intense burns that littered her body, or any of her smaller wounds.

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Aisha glanced at her limp, right arm, useless, the muscle having been frayed off the bone. It hurt to turn her head. It hurt to walk, but she had to help Sui.

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Sui was her friend. Aisha cared about her. Aisha wanted to protect her- she needed to treat her better, better than she had treated Amir-

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Another explosion rocked the sky, and Aisha's eyes widened as she saw a blinding light appear in the sky, followed by a heavy gust of wind, and a loud shockwave.

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Followed by a blazing fireball, which split into two pieces, flying off into the forest. Two pieces of Sui.

.

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Aisha saw the demon hiding behind a tree, and white filled her vision, as pure rage filled her head. Ignoring the pain in her body, ignoring all rational thought, and the warning of the shadow inside her soul, she let out a roar, primal, deep, that shook the forest, as she prepared to tear the demon apart, limb from limb, one inch of flesh at a time.

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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She snarled, feeling her movements restrain, slowing, held back by her own magic, wrapping around her limbs.

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(I'm trying to keep you from getting killed!) The shadow reasoned desperately in her mind, struggling to keep Aisha's rage-fueled body from charging forward and running directly into a magic-mine. (Please! You're going to die if you just charge in!)

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"HE KILLED HER!" Aisha screamed, as the demon stared curiously at her. "HE KILLED MY FRIEND! I'M GOING TO RIP HIM APART!"

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(She was my friend too!) The shadow whispered. (I feel the same sadness as you do! But in order to get revenge, we have to play this smarter!)

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"I DON'T CARE!" Aisha screeched. "LET ME GO!"

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Aisha screamed, snarling and groaning, as she felt her shadow's influence start to encroach on her mind, attempting to take over. But she would be damned - damned if she couldn't cut every single finger off the fucking rat's hands, torture him, make him feel the same pain that she felt.

.

And so she resisted, even as her brain started to burn, as it started to hurt, from all the strain she was putting on resisting. The pain was worse than the worst migraine she had ever felt - like her head was splitting open, but pure rage, pure emotion, willpower, kept her struggling, moving slowly towards the demon, fist balled up so tight she was beginning to bleed.

.

But the short fey could only take so much, and soon she let out a cry of agony, writhing as she held her head in her hands - she was going to die for sure - the pain was so intense, as she felt the shadow leak into her mind, but not fully - her brain felt like it was being split in two, two separate entities trying to send different signals at the same time-

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Aisha collapsed, eyes rolled back into her head, and foaming at the mouth.

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The demon could only stare at her in equal parts confusion and relief - something had happened, something that he didn't understand. But what he did understand was that Aisha was now unconscious, suffering on the ground, holding her head weakly in her hands.

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"I sorry." He muttered, glancing at a nearby rock. The safest bet would be to throw her into a mine. It would finish her off, and hopefully, it would be painless. "I not want any of this."

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He walked up next to Aisha, and could only look at her with pity.

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"You remind me of others." He said softly. "In hell. They have friends too. And when they lose friends, they also lose self. Never last long."

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He bent down, gripping Aisha's shoulder with a hand, but quickly stepped back, eyebrow raised in surprise when Aisha gripped his ankle with a fist, squeezing it weakly.

.

"You alive." He said quietly. "I…"

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Aisha could see the hesitation on the demon's ashen, bloodied face, red and dry, beginning to flake off. It was fascinating, looking into his eyes and seeing the intense conflict - so used to having to kill ruthlessly, but now, in a new, safer environment, feeling that he should change…

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If it was the other way around, Aisha would have killed herself without a thought. It was funny. So she laughed, her cackling echoing through the forest, not understanding why the demon was looking at her with such shock, a mild expression of concern making its way onto his face.

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Aisha herself was a little curious. Who else was laughing with her?

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"I have no need for your pity." Aisha laughed crazily, two, separate voices coming out of her mouth, one insane, the other wispy, shadowy. "Because… HAHAH HA HA HA- YOU'RE THE ONE DYING HERE!"

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The demon attempted to yank his leg out of Aisha's grip, but all of a sudden, her strength multiplied tenfold, squeezing hard enough almost to break his bones. He watched with horror as black ice began to creep up his leg, sapping the heat from his bones painfully.

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Aisha stared at the ice with wonder, feeling… strange in the head. Like she was in a dream, but… not in a dream, at the same time. She could feel… someone else's thoughts. Crowding out her own. She could see… memories.

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She remembered. She knew how to cast this spell, she had done it many times before. It was simply a matter of… adapting. In a new body - no. In her own body.

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(These memories aren't mine. They're someone else's.)

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Aisha grimaced, feeling a throbbing in her head.

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(Who am I?)

.

(What's happening?)

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(Who else is there?)

.

.

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Her own voice echoed back to her.

(You're Aisha. Remember?)

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Suddenly, her own memories came flooding in, and suddenly Aisha felt clearheaded. Her eyes felt like her own again. Her hands stopped shaking. Her ears could hear again. She smiled.

.

(Good girl.) She praised.

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(Ugh.) Her own voice echoed back. (Stop that!)

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(I know you like it too.)

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(Focus on the battle!)

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Ah. That was right. With her ears, came her hearing. And with her hearing, came… the screaming.

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Aisha furrowed her eyebrows at the demon, screaming in agony as black ice began to creep up his leg, spreading to his chest. But as it reached his upper body, about to freeze his heart, the ice suddenly stopped, and Aisha felt an intense pain in her midsection.

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"Ah." She panted out. "That's… right."

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The throbbing… nothingness in her right arm, and searing pain in the rest of her body, reminded her that she was, in fact, dying, and on her last legs. With no mana left, her healing had stopped too.

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(I'm sorry. This wasn't enough.)

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(No, it is.)

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Aisha ignored the screaming, incomprehensible English of the demon as she crouched down, breaking off the ice connecting him and the ground. On shaky legs, she managed to prop herself up, supporting the weight of the tall, ashen-skinned man with her own. Maneuvering around clumsily, she managed to get behind him, a place where he was unable to reach Aisha, being unable to turn around.

.

"Let's see." Aisha weakly whispered into his ear, wrapping her arms around his in a full nelson. "You were… trying to drag me over to that rock. I'm guessing… there's a mine there."

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The demon's eyes widened, and thrashing went wilder, as he realized what Aisha was going to do.

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"YOU CRAZY!" He screamed, as Aisha started to drag them closer and closer to the rock. Closer. Closer. "NO! NO! NO! NO-"

.

.

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Head ringing, and body completely destroyed, Aisha could barely draw breath. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't feel anything either - although, that might have been because there was nothing left in her body to feel.

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A blurry, black figure appeared in her vision.

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"Aren't you… dying." Feng whispered. Aisha could barely even hear her.

"Are you going to save me?" Aisha whispered. Or at least, tried to. All that ended up coming out was a painful breath.

"No."

"Please…" Aisha breathed out.

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Aisha could feel the demon's soul nearby, as Feng's presence disappeared, and could only close her eyes. So close. He was dead - or at least, dying. Unconscious, at the least. Dammit - she was so close! All she needed… was to touch his body - even a finger - just a little bit, and she could take enough of his soul - enough to heal herself, enough to…

.

Aisha felt the swirling, nourishing energy of the demon's soul come closer, and without even questioning it, began to feast, taking in… everything. His memories, his thoughts, his fears, his happiness, his despair, all rushed into her at once, invigorating her.

.

[

"It's try to!" Lairi chided, putting a hand on Kathas's thigh. "Try. To! Try to! Not just, try! Try TO. Try it with me!"

"You just say try IT." Kathas mumbled. "Dumb language make no sense."

"It's not dumb!" Lairi laughed, shoving Kathas playfully, a gesture that made him flinch-

]

.

Aisha's eyes snapped open, breathing heavily as she felt her lungs healing themselves, the tissues starting to mend themselves. Her eyes then started to mend, and Aisha could then see - see as the cavity in her chest closed up, as the skin and muscle began to return to her bones.

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She threw the grisly corpse off of her chest, sticky with demonic blood, and stretched, feeling the wind on her face, and the energy back in her muscles.

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(Ugh, finally, I'm free of that idiot's mind.)

.

(What?)

.

(Oops.)

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Aisha could only giggle and smile, feeling a slight lurching in her mind as her shadow separated herself from her mind, and suddenly, she knew that all of her thoughts… were really hers, and all her memories were her own. She felt… good. Relieved, at least. It was over. She could leave, and go... back. She could…

.

"I M G L A D O N E O F U S I S H A P P Y, A T L E A S T."

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Aisha whirled around in shock, hearing a robotic, scratchy voice, and the sound of whirring machinery, servos, and crackling electricity.

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She stared, mouth open, eyes wide, at the sight in front of her - Sui, or at least, what was left of Sui - stared back at her.

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But it wasn't Sui. Or at least - not human. The thing had Sui's eyes, but…

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Aisah had always thought she was human. And humes couldn't live without their skin. Humes couldn't survive being split in half. Humes…

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Humes weren't made out of metal.

.

.

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The thing sighed, a fabricated sound - or was it? Aisha saw some - some sack of air inflate, but machina didn't breathe-

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The thing spoke, in something resembling Sui's voice, in a tone that might have been described as glum. At least, on a hume.

"I G U E S S I H A V E S O M E E X P L A I N I N G T O D O, F R I E N D."